Fountain of Youth? Scientists find way to reverse aging in human cells

 

 

A lot of beauty products boast “age-defying” properties, but these only help people look younger. But Japanese researchers have now found a way to actually reverse the aging process in human cells.

 

According to the study, published in the journal Scientific Reports, Japanese researchers were able to use glycine treatment and exposure to essentially de-age cells taken from elderly human subjects.

Epigenetic explanation
 

It was previously thought that the aging process was caused by the accumulation of mutations in the DNA of mitochondria, the “powerhouses” of our cells. But the research team, led by Professor Jun-Ichi Hayashi from the University of Tsukuba, put forward another hypothesis: that signs of aging are actually controlled by epigenetic regulation, the changes in the structure of DNA caused by outside factors like chemicals.

 

“Here, we show that reprogramming of elderly fibroblasts restores age-associated mitochondrial respiration defects, indicating that these aging phenotypes are reversible and are similar to differentiation phenotypes in that both are controlled by epigenetic regulation, not by mutations in either the nuclear or the mitochondrial genome,” the study said.

 

Fibroblast cell samples from both young and old human subjects were compared in terms of mitochondrial function. If aging were a function of mutations in mitochondrial DNA, then the mitochondrial DNA of the older sample would have more mutations. However, researchers found that there was no difference between the mitochondrial DNA of both groups.

Glycine treatment

 

The researchers also found that treating the fibroblasts from the older group with glycine prevented the cells from expressing signs of aging. In mitochondria, the genes GCAT and SHMT2 are responsible for glycine production. As the cells age, the levels of glycine produced go down, causing the cells to display defects connected to aging. Adding glycine to the medium containing fibroblast samples from the elderly group for 10 days “restored the reduced respiratory function” of the sample. — TJD, GMA News